# Shelby (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/shelby/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 12,303 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,912 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 25,095 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.8% (11,624 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈʃɛlbi/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From a medieval name, of obscure origin, yet likely an alteration of Middle English Selby, Salibi (“dweller of the willow place”), from salwe (“willow, sallow”) + -by (“settlement, farm”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Shelby in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 58% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 36% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Shelby in the United States.

## People named Shelby

- Carroll Shelby, American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur (1923-2012)
- John Shelby Spong, American bishop (1931–2021)
- Isaac Shelby, American politician (1750-1826)
- Margaret Shelby, American actress (1900-1939)
- Kid McCoy, American boxer (1872-1940)

## Similar surnames

Selby, Slaby, Silva, Self, Sylvia, Silvia, Silvey, Scalf, Selph, Salvo, Saliba, Sylva.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.